Method and apparatus for making patterned apertured substrates

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods for making patterned apertured substrates that may be used as components of absorbent articles. During the manufacturing processes, a precursor substrate advances in a machine direction between a pattern roll and an anvil roll. The pattern roll rotates about an axis of rotation and includes a plurality of pattern surfaces, wherein the substrate is compressed between the anvil roll and the pattern surfaces of the pattern roll to form discrete bond regions in the substrate. The pattern surfaces on the pattern roll are formed on continuous threads extending circumferentially around the axis of rotation along helical paths parallel with each other. As such, the pattern surfaces press the substrate against the outer circumferential surface of the anvil roll in the different axial locations along the cross direction as the pattern roll rotates when forming the discrete bond regions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/571,495, filed on Sep. 16, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/733,107, filed on Sep. 19, 2018, theentirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to methods for manufacturing absorbentarticles, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for makingpatterned apertured substrates that may be used as components ofabsorbent articles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Along an assembly line, various types of disposable absorbent articles,such as diapers, sanitary napkins, and pant liners, may be assembled byadding components to and otherwise modifying advancing, continuous websof material. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacturediapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, absorbent cores, frontand/or back ears, fastener components, and various types of elastic websand components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, andwaist elastics. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacturesanitary napkins and/or panty liners may include: backsheets, topsheets,secondary topsheets, absorbent core components, release paper wrappers,and the like. Once the desired component parts are assembled, theadvancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cutto separate the web(s) into discrete absorbent articles. The absorbentarticles may also sometimes be folded and/or individually wrapped.

Some components of absorbent articles may include apertured webs.Various methods and apparatuses may be used for forming apertures in anadvancing web and/or otherwise modify an advancing web during themanufacturing process. For example, in some operations, a web mayadvance in a machine direction between a pattern roll and a smooth anvilroller to create a plurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations inthe web. The weakened, melt stabilized locations in the web maycorrespond with an arrangement of pattern surfaces on the pattern roll.The web may then be stretched in a cross direction to rupture theplurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations in the web, therebycreating a plurality of apertures in the web coincident with theplurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations.

In such operations, repetitive contact between the pattern surfaces onthe pattern roll and the anvil roll may cause excessive wear on theanvil roll. In some configurations, the pattern roll and the anvil rollmay be sized such that the pattern surfaces contact the anvil roll inthe same circumferential and axial locations during use. Thus, the anvilroll may exhibit localized wear in these locations, necessitatingrelative frequent repair or replacement of the anvil roll.

Consequently, it would be beneficial to provide methods and apparatuseswith pattern rolls that are configured to operate to help mitigatelocalized wear on anvil rolls and wherein such pattern rolls may bedesigned for ease of manufacture at relatively low costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, a method for making an apertured substrate comprises:rotating a pattern roll about an axis of rotation extending in a crossdirection, the pattern roll comprising an outer circumferential surface,the pattern roll comprising: a number, n, of continuous threadsextending circumferentially around the axis of rotation along a helicalpath parallel with each other, wherein n is 2 or greater; wherein eachthread protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferentialsurface; wherein each thread comprises first outer surfaces and secondouter surfaces intermittently arranged circumferentially around the axisof rotation along a length of each thread; wherein the first outersurfaces are positioned radially outward from the axis of rotation by afirst radius R1; wherein the second outer surfaces are positionedradially outward from the axis of rotation by a second radius R2 lessthan the first radius R1; wherein each first outer surface extendsaxially in the cross direction, from a first edge to a second edge;wherein the first edges of neighboring threads are separated by a pitchlength, PL, extending in the cross direction; wherein the first edges ofa first thread are separated from first edges of the first thread by alead length, LL, extending in the cross direction, wherein [LL=PL*n];and wherein each thread comprises a helix angle, wherein

[helix angle=arctan((2*Π*R1)/(LL)), wherein 45°<helix angle<90°];

rotating an anvil roll adjacent the pattern roll; advancing a substratein a machine direction between the pattern roll and the anvil roll, themachine direction being substantially perpendicular to the crossdirection; compressing the substrate between the anvil roll and thefirst surfaces of the threads to form discrete bond regions in thesubstrate; and stretching the substrate in the cross direction to causethe discrete bond regions to rupture and form apertures.

In another form, an apparatus for bonding substrates comprises: patternroll adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation extending in a firstdirection D, the pattern roll comprising an outer circumferentialsurface, the pattern roll comprising: a number, n, of continuous threadsextending circumferentially around the axis of rotation along a helicalpath parallel with each other, wherein n is 2 or greater; wherein eachthread protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferentialsurface; wherein each thread comprises first outer surfaces and secondouter surfaces intermittently arranged circumferentially around the axisof rotation along a length of each thread; wherein the first outersurfaces are positioned radially outward from the axis of rotation by afirst radius R1; wherein the second outer surfaces are positionedradially outward from the axis of rotation by a second radius R2 lessthan the first radius R1; wherein each first outer surface extendsaxially in the first direction, D, from a first edge to a second edge;wherein the first edges of neighboring threads are separated by a pitchlength, PL, extending in the direction D; wherein the first edges of afirst thread are separated from first edges of the first thread by alead length, LL, extending in the direction D, wherein [LL=PL*n]; andwherein each thread comprises a helix angle, wherein

[helix angle=arctan((2**R1)/(LL)), wherein 45°<helix angle<90°]; and ananvil roll adjacent the pattern roll to define a nip between the firstsurfaces of the threads and the anvil roll.

In yet another form, a method for making an apparatus for bondingsubstrates comprises: providing a roll adapted to rotate about an axisof rotation extending in a first direction D; creating a plurality ofgrooves into the roll to form a number, n, of continuous threadsextending circumferentially around the axis of rotation along a helicalpath parallel with each other, wherein n is 2 or greater, each threadcomprising an outer circumferential surface extending axially in thefirst direction, D, from a first edge to a second edge; wherein thefirst edges of neighboring threads are separated by a pitch length, PL,extending in the direction D; wherein the first edges of a first threadare separated from first edges of the first thread by a lead length, LL,extending in the direction D, wherein [LL=PL*n]; and each threadcomprising a helix angle, wherein

[helix angle=arctan((2*Π*R1)/(LL)), wherein 45°<helix angle<90°];

removing material from the outer circumferential surface of each threadto form discrete first outer surfaces and discrete second outer surfacesintermittently arranged circumferentially around the axis of rotationalong a length of each thread; wherein the first outer surfaces arepositioned radially outward from the axis of rotation by a first radiusR1; wherein the second outer surfaces are positioned radially outwardfrom the axis of rotation by a second radius R2 less than the firstradius R1; and positioning an anvil adjacent the roll to define a nipbetween the first outer surfaces and the anvil.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a partially cut away plan view of an absorbent article in theform of a taped diaper that may include one or more patterned aperturedsubstrates made in accordance with the present disclosure with theportion of the diaper that faces away from a wearer oriented towards theviewer.

FIG. 1B is a plan view of the absorbent article of FIG. 1A that mayinclude one or more patterned apertured substrates made in accordancewith the present disclosure with the portion of the diaper that facestoward a wearer oriented towards the viewer.

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of an absorbent article that mayinclude one or more patterned apertured substrates made in accordancewith the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a front view of the absorbent article of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a rear view of the absorbent article of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an apparatus for producingpatterned apertured substrates.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a weakening roller arrangement of FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an incremental stretching system of FIG.3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example cross machine directionaltensioning apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a front view of an example crossmachine directional tensioning apparatus with outer longitudinalportions in an unexpanded and non-angled positions relative to a middleportion.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a front view of the crossmachine directional tensioning apparatus of FIG. 7 with the outerlongitudinal portions in a longitudinally expanded position relative tothe middle portion.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a front view of the crossmachine directional tensioning apparatus of FIG. 7 with the outerlongitudinal portions in an angled and expanded position relative to themiddle portion.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of a front view of a cross machinedirectional tensioning apparatus with outer longitudinal portions fixedin an angled position relative to a middle portion.

FIG. 11A is an isometric view of a roll.

FIG. 11B is an isometric view of the roll from FIG. 11A modified toinclude two relief channels.

FIG. 11C is an isometric view of the roll from FIG. 11B modified toinclude a first groove.

FIG. 11D is an isometric view of the roll from FIG. 11C modified toinclude a second groove to create a first thread between the firstgroove and the second groove.

FIG. 11E is an isometric view of the roll from FIG. 11D modified toinclude a third groove to create a second thread between the secondgroove and the third groove.

FIG. 11F is an isometric view of the roll from FIG. 11B modified toinclude a plurality of grooves and threads.

FIG. 12 is a laid out flat view of an outer circumferential surface ofthe roll shown in FIG. 11B modified to include three independentthreads.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of threads of the roll shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a view of an outer circumferential surface of the roll fromFIG. 12 in the form of a pattern roll with portions of the threadsmodified to define pattern surfaces.

FIG. 15 is a detailed isometric view of a portion of a thread of thepattern roll from FIG. 14.

FIG. 15A is a detailed isometric view of a portion of a thread of apattern roll with a tapered sidewall.

FIG. 16 is a top side view of the thread of the FIG. 15.

FIG. 16A is a top side view of the thread of the FIG. 15A.

FIG. 17 is an example weakened precursor material including a pattern ofdiscrete bond regions pattern made with a patterned roll.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

“Absorbent article” is used herein to refer to consumer products whoseprimary function is to absorb and retain soils and wastes. Absorbentarticles can comprise sanitary napkins, tampons, panty liners,interlabial devices, wound dressings, wipes, disposable diapersincluding taped diapers and diaper pants, inserts for diapers with areusable outer cover, adult incontinent diapers, adult incontinent pads,and adult incontinent pants. The term “disposable” is used herein todescribe absorbent articles which generally are not intended to belaundered or otherwise restored or reused as an absorbent article (e.g.,they are intended to be discarded after a single use and may also beconfigured to be recycled, composted or otherwise disposed of in anenvironmentally compatible manner). The term “absorbent article” mayalso encompass cleaning or dusting pads or substrates that have someabsorbency.

The term “taped diaper” (also referred to as “open diaper”) refers todisposable absorbent articles having an initial front waist region andan initial back waist region that are not fastened, pre-fastened, orconnected to each other as packaged, prior to being applied to thewearer. A taped diaper may be folded about the lateral centerline withthe interior of one waist region in surface to surface contact with theinterior of the opposing waist region without fastening or joining thewaist regions together. Example taped diapers are disclosed in varioussuitable configurations U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,167,897, 5,360,420, 5,599,335,5,643,588, 5,674,216, 5,702,551, 5,968,025, 6,107,537, 6,118,041,6,153,209, 6,410,129, 6,426,444, 6,586,652, 6,627,787, 6,617,016,6,825,393, and 6,861,571; and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2013/0072887A1; 2013/0211356 A1; and 2013/0306226 A1, all of which are incorporatedby reference herein.

The term “pant” (also referred to as “training pant”, “pre-closeddiaper”, “diaper pant”, “pant diaper”, and “pull-on diaper”) refersherein to disposable absorbent articles having a continuous perimeterwaist opening and continuous perimeter leg openings designed for infantor adult wearers. A pant can be configured with a continuous or closedwaist opening and at least one continuous, closed, leg opening prior tothe article being applied to the wearer. A pant can be preformed orpre-fastened by various techniques including, but not limited to,joining together portions of the article using any refastenable and/orpermanent closure member (e.g., seams, heat bonds, pressure welds,adhesives, cohesive bonds, mechanical fasteners, etc.). A pant can bepreformed anywhere along the circumference of the article in the waistregion (e.g., side fastened or seamed, front waist fastened or seamed,rear waist fastened or seamed). Example diaper pants in variousconfigurations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,940,464; 5,092,861;5,246,433; 5,569,234; 5,897,545; 5,957,908; 6,120,487; 6,120,489;7,569,039 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2003/0233082 A1; 2005/0107764A1, 2012/0061016 A1, 2012/0061015 A1; 2013/0255861 A1; 2013/0255862 A1;2013/0255863 A1; 2013/0255864 A1; and 2013/0255865 A1, all of which areincorporated by reference herein.

The term “feminine hygiene articles” refers to disposable absorbentarticles used by women for catamenial protection. Such feminine hygienearticles may include sanitary napkins, tampons, interlabial products,incontinence devices, and pantiliners. Non-limiting examples of pantyliners and sanitary napkins include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,324,246; 4,463,045; 4,342,314; 4,556,146; 4,589,876; 4,687,478;4,950,264; 5,009,653; 5,267,992; and 6,004,893.

An “elastic,” “elastomer” or “elastomeric” refers to materialsexhibiting elastic properties, which include any material that uponapplication of a force to its relaxed, initial length can stretch orelongate to an elongated length more than 10% greater than its initiallength and will substantially recover back to about its initial lengthupon release of the applied force.

As used herein, the term “joined” encompasses configurations whereby anelement is directly secured to another element by affixing the elementdirectly to the other element, and configurations whereby an element isindirectly secured to another element by affixing the element tointermediate member(s) which in turn are affixed to the other element.

The term “substrate” is used herein to describe a material which isprimarily two-dimensional (i.e. in an XY plane) and whose thickness (ina Z direction) is relatively small (i.e. 1/10 or less) in comparison toits length (in an X direction) and width (in a Y direction).Non-limiting examples of substrates include a web, layer or layers orfibrous materials, nonwovens, films and foils such as polymeric films ormetallic foils. These materials may be used alone or may comprise two ormore layers laminated together. As such, a web is a substrate. The term“nonwoven” refers herein to a material made from continuous (long)filaments (fibers) and/or discontinuous (short) filaments (fibers) byprocesses such as spunbonding, meltblowing, carding, and the like. Insome configurations, a nonwoven may comprise a polyolefin basednonwoven, including but not limited to nonwovens having polypropylenefibers and/or polyethylene fibers and/or bicomponent fibers comprising apolyolefin. Nonlimiting examples of suitable fibers include spunbond,spunlaid, meltblown, spunmelt, solvent-spun, electrospun, carded, filmfibrillated, melt-film fibrillated, air-laid, dry-laid, wet-laid staplefibers, and other nonwoven web materials formed in part or in whole ofpolymer fibers as known in the art, and workable combinations thereof.Nonwovens do not have a woven or knitted filament pattern. It is to beappreciated that nonwovens having various basis weights can be used inaccordance with the methods herein. For example, some nonwovens may havea basis weight of at least about 8 gsm, 12 gsm, 16 gsm, 20 gsm, 25 gsm,25 gsm, 40 gsm, or 65 gsm. Some nonwovens may have basis weight of about8 gsm to about 65 gsm, specifically reciting all 1 gsm increments withinthe above-recited ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

It is to be appreciated that films having various basis weights can beused in accordance with the methods herein. For example, some films mayhave a basis weight of at least about 8 gsm, 12 gsm, 16 gsm, 20 gsm, 25gsm, 25 gsm, 40 gsm, or 60 gsm. Some films may have basis weight ofabout 8 gsm to about 60 gsm, specifically reciting all 1 gsm incrementswithin the above-recited ranges and all ranges formed therein orthereby.

The term “machine direction” (MD) is used herein to refer to thedirection of material flow through a process. In addition, relativeplacement and movement of material can be described as flowing in themachine direction through a process from upstream in the process todownstream in the process.

The terms “cross direction” and “cross machine direction” (CD) are usedherein to refer to a direction that is generally perpendicular to themachine direction.

As used herein, the term “aspect ratio” is the ratio of the major axisto the minor axis of a pattern surface, a bond region, or an aperture.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for manufacturingabsorbent articles, and in particular, to apparatuses and methods formaking patterned apertured substrates that may be used as components ofabsorbent articles. During the manufacturing processes herein, aprecursor substrate advances in a machine direction between a patternroll and an anvil roll. The pattern roll is adapted to rotate about anaxis of rotation and includes a plurality of pattern surfaces, whereinthe substrate is compressed between an outer circumferential surface ofthe anvil roll and the pattern surfaces of the pattern roll to formdiscrete bond regions in the substrate. The substrate is then stretchedin a cross direction to cause the discrete bond regions to rupture andform apertures, wherein the cross direction is substantiallyperpendicular to the machine direction. As discussed in more detailbelow, the pattern surfaces on the pattern roll are formed on continuousthreads that extend circumferentially around the axis of rotation alonga helical path parallel with each other. As such, the pattern surfacespress the substrate against the outer circumferential surface of theanvil roll in different axial locations along the cross direction as thepattern roll rotates when forming the discrete bond regions. Because thepattern surfaces are arranged along helical paths around the patternroll, the pattern surfaces exert pressure against the anvil roll atvarious locations along the axial length of the anvil roll, and in turn,help mitigate and/or reduce localized wear in the outer circumferentialsurface of the anvil roll that may otherwise occur.

It is to be appreciated that the systems and methods disclosed hereinare applicable to work with various types of converting processes and/ormachines, such as for example, absorbent article manufacturing andassembly processes, such as for example, described in U.S. Pat. No.5,628,097 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2003/0021951 A1 and2016/0136014 A1. The methods and apparatuses are discussed below in thecontext of manufacturing diapers. And for the purposes of a specificillustration, FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of an absorbent article100 that may be assembled in accordance with the methods and apparatusesdisclosed herein. In particular, FIG. 1A shows one example of a planview of an absorbent article 100 configured as a taped diaper 100T, withthe portion of the diaper that faces away from a wearer oriented towardsthe viewer. And FIG. 1B shows a plan view of the diaper 100 with theportion of the diaper that faces toward a wearer oriented towards theviewer. The taped diaper 100T shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B includes anabsorbent chassis 102, first and second rear side panels 104 and 106;and first and second front side panels 108 and 110.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the diaper 100 and the chassis 102 eachinclude a first waist region 116, a second waist region 118, and acrotch region 119 disposed intermediate the first and second waistregions. The first waist region 116 may be configured as a front waistregion, and the second waist region 118 may be configured as back waistregion. In some embodiments, the length of each of the front waistregion, back waist region, and crotch region may be 1/3 of the length ofthe absorbent article 100. The absorbent article may also include alaterally extending front waist edge 120 in the front waist region 116and a longitudinally opposing and laterally extending back waist edge122 in the back waist region 118. To provide a frame of reference forthe present discussion, the diaper 100T in FIGS. 1A and 1B is shown witha longitudinal axis 124 and a lateral axis 126. The longitudinal axis124 may extend through a midpoint of the front waist edge 120 andthrough a midpoint of the back waist edge 122. And the lateral axis 126may extend through a midpoint of a first longitudinal or right side edge128 and through a midpoint of a second longitudinal or left side edge130.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the diaper 100 includes an inner, bodyfacing surface 132, and an outer, garment facing surface 134. And thechassis 102 may include a backsheet 136 and a topsheet 138. The chassis102 may also include an absorbent assembly 140, including an absorbentcore 142, disposed between a portion of the topsheet 138 and thebacksheet 136. As discussed in more detail below, the diaper 100 mayalso include other features, such as leg elastics and/or leg cuffs, anelastic waist region, and/or flaps, e.g., side panels and/or ears, toenhance the fits around the legs and waist of the wearer, to enhance thefit around the legs of the wearer.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the periphery of the chassis 102 may bedefined by the first longitudinal side edge 128, a second longitudinalside edge 130, a first laterally extending end edge 144 disposed in thefirst waist region 116, and a second laterally extending end edge 146disposed in the second waist region 118. Both side edges 128 and 130extend longitudinally between the first end edge 144 and the second endedge 146. As shown in FIG. 1A, the laterally extending end edges 144 and146 may form a portion of the laterally extending front waist edge 120in the front waist region 116 and a portion of the longitudinallyopposing and laterally extending back waist edge 122 in the back waistregion 118. The distance between the first lateral end edge 144 and thesecond lateral end edge 146 may define a pitch length, PLT, of thechassis 102. When the diaper 100 is worn on the lower torso of a wearer,the front waist edge 120 and the back waist edge 122 may encircle aportion of the waist of the wearer. At the same time, the side edges 128and 130 may encircle at least a portion of the legs of the wearer. Andthe crotch region 119 may be generally positioned between the legs ofthe wearer with the absorbent core 142 extending from the front waistregion 116 through the crotch region 119 to the back waist region 118.

It is to also be appreciated that a portion or the whole of the diaper100 may also be made laterally extensible. The additional extensibilitymay help allow the diaper 100 to conform to the body of a wearer duringmovement by the wearer. The additional extensibility may also help, forexample, the user of the diaper 100, including a chassis 102 having aparticular size before extension, to extend the front waist region 116,the back waist region 118, or both waist regions of the diaper 100and/or chassis 102 to provide additional body coverage for wearers ofdiffering size, i.e., to tailor the diaper to an individual wearer. Suchextension of the waist region or regions may give the absorbent articlea generally hourglass shape, so long as the crotch region is extended toa relatively lesser degree than the waist region or regions, and mayimpart a tailored appearance to the article when it is worn.

As previously mentioned, the diaper 100 may include a backsheet 136. Thebacksheet 136 may also define the outer surface 134 of the chassis 102.The backsheet 136 may be impervious to fluids (e.g., menses, urine,and/or runny feces) and may be manufactured in part from a thin plasticfilm, although other flexible liquid impervious materials may also beused. The backsheet 136 may prevent the exudates absorbed and containedin the absorbent core from wetting articles which contact the diaper100, such as bedsheets, pajamas and undergarments.

The backsheet 136 may also comprise a woven or nonwoven material,polymeric films such as thermoplastic films of polyethylene orpolypropylene, and/or a multi-layer or composite materials comprising afilm and a nonwoven material (e.g., having an inner film layer and anouter nonwoven layer). The backsheet may also comprise an elastomericfilm. An example backsheet 136 may be a polyethylene film having athickness of from about 0.012 mm (0.5 mils) to about 0.051 mm (2.0mils). Exemplary polyethylene films are manufactured by ClopayCorporation of Cincinnati, Ohio, under the designation BR-120 and BR-121and by Tredegar Film Products of Terre Haute, Ind., under thedesignation XP-39385. The backsheet 136 may also be embossed and/ormatte-finished to provide a more clothlike appearance. Further, thebacksheet 136 may permit vapors to escape from the absorbent core (i.e.,the backsheet is breathable) while still preventing exudates frompassing through the backsheet 136. The size of the backsheet 136 may bedictated by the size of the absorbent core 142 and/or particularconfiguration or size of the diaper 100.

Also described above, the diaper 100 may include a topsheet 138. Thetopsheet 138 may also define all or part of the inner surface 132 of thechassis 102. The topsheet 138 may be compliant, soft feeling, andnon-irritating to the wearer's skin. It may be elastically stretchablein one or two directions. Further, the topsheet 138 may be liquidpervious, permitting liquids (e.g., menses, urine, and/or runny feces)to penetrate through its thickness. A topsheet 138 may be manufacturedfrom a wide range of materials such as woven and nonwoven materials;apertured or hydroformed thermoplastic films; apertured nonwovens,porous foams; reticulated foams; reticulated thermoplastic films; andthermoplastic scrims. Woven and nonwoven materials may comprise naturalfibers such as wood or cotton fibers; synthetic fibers such aspolyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene fibers; or combinationsthereof. If the topsheet 138 includes fibers, the fibers may bespunbond, carded, wet-laid, meltblown, hydroentangled, or otherwiseprocessed as is known in the art.

Topsheets 138 may be selected from high loft nonwoven topsheets,apertured film topsheets and apertured nonwoven topsheets. Aperturedfilm topsheets may be pervious to bodily exudates, yet substantiallynon-absorbent, and have a reduced tendency to allow fluids to pass backthrough and rewet the wearer's skin. Exemplary apertured films mayinclude those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,628,097; 5,916,661;6,545,197; and 6,107,539.

As mentioned above, the diaper 100 may also include an absorbentassembly 140 that is joined to the chassis 102. As shown in FIGS. 1A and1B, the absorbent assembly 140 may have a laterally extending front edge148 in the front waist region 116 and may have a longitudinally opposingand laterally extending back edge 150 in the back waist region 118. Theabsorbent assembly may have a longitudinally extending right side edge152 and may have a laterally opposing and longitudinally extending leftside edge 154, both absorbent assembly side edges 152 and 154 may extendlongitudinally between the front edge 148 and the back edge 150. Theabsorbent assembly 140 may additionally include one or more absorbentcores 142 or absorbent core layers. The absorbent core 142 may be atleast partially disposed between the topsheet 138 and the backsheet 136and may be formed in various sizes and shapes that are compatible withthe diaper. Exemplary absorbent structures for use as the absorbent coreof the present disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,610,678;4,673,402; 4,888,231; and 4,834,735.

Some absorbent core embodiments may comprise fluid storage cores thatcontain reduced amounts of cellulosic airfelt material. For instance,such cores may comprise less than about 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, or even1% of cellulosic airfelt material. Such a core may comprise primarilyabsorbent gelling material in amounts of at least about 60%, 70%, 80%,85%, 90%, 95%, or even about 100%, where the remainder of the corecomprises a microfiber glue (if applicable). Such cores, microfiberglues, and absorbent gelling materials are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,599,335; 5,562,646; 5,669,894; and 6,790,798 as well as U.S. PatentPublication Nos. 2004/0158212 A1 and 2004/0097895 A1.

As previously mentioned, the diaper 100 may also include elasticized legcuffs 156 and an elasticized waistband 158. It is to be appreciated thatthe leg cuffs 156 can be and are sometimes also referred to as legbands, side flaps, barrier cuffs, elastic cuffs or gasketing cuffs. Theelasticized leg cuffs 156 may be configured in various ways to helpreduce the leakage of body exudates in the leg regions. Example legcuffs 156 may include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,860,003;4,909,803; 4,695,278; 4,795,454; 4,704,115; and U.S. Patent PublicationNo. 2009/0312730 A1.

The elasticized waistband 158 may provide improved fit and containmentand may be a portion or zone of the diaper 100 that may elasticallyexpand and contract to dynamically fit a wearer's waist. The elasticizedwaistband 158 may extend longitudinally inwardly from the waist edges120, 122 of the diaper toward the lateral edges 148, 150 of theabsorbent core 142. The diaper 100 may also include more than oneelasticized waistband 158, for example, having one waistband 158positioned in the back waist region 118 and one waistband 158 positionedin the front wait region 116, although other embodiments may beconstructed with a single elasticized waistband 158. The elasticizedwaistband 158 may be constructed in a number of different configurationsincluding those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,515,595 and 5,151,092. Insome embodiments, the elasticized waistbands 158 may include materialsthat have been “prestrained” or “mechanically prestrained” (subjected tosome degree of localized pattern mechanical stretching to permanentlyelongate the material). The materials may be prestrained using deepembossing techniques as are known in the art. In some embodiments, thematerials may be prestrained by directing the material through anincremental mechanical stretching system as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,330,458. The materials are then allowed to return to theirsubstantially untensioned condition, thus forming a zero strain stretchmaterial that is extensible, at least up to the point of initialstretching. Examples of zero strain materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 2,075,189; 3,025,199; 4,107,364; 4,209,563; 4,834,741; and5,151,092.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the chassis 102 may include longitudinallyextending and laterally opposing side flaps 160 that are disposed on theinterior surface 132 of the chassis 102 that faces inwardly toward thewearer and contacts the wearer. Each side flap may have a proximal edge.The side flaps may also overlap the absorbent assembly 140, wherein theproximal edges extend laterally inward of the respective side edges ofthe absorbent assembly 152 and 154. In some configurations, the sideflaps may not overlap the absorbent assembly. It is to be appreciatedthat the side flaps may be formed in various ways, such as for example,by folding portions of the chassis 102 laterally inward, i.e., towardthe longitudinal axis 124, to form both the respective side flaps andthe side edges 128 and 130 of the chassis 102. In another example, theside flaps may be formed by attaching an additional layer or layers tothe chassis at or adjacent to each of the respective side edges and ofthe chassis. Each of the side flaps may be joined to the interiorsurface 132 of the chassis and/or the absorbent assembly in side flapattachment zones in the front waist region 116 and in side flapattachment zones in the back waist region 118. The side flaps may extendto the same longitudinal extent as the absorbent article oralternatively the side flaps may have a longitudinal extent that is lessthan the absorbent article.

Taped diapers may be manufactured and provided to consumers in aconfiguration wherein the front waist region and the back waist regionare not fastened, pre-fastened, or connected to each other as packaged,prior to being applied to the wearer. For example, the taped diaper 100may be folded about a lateral centerline with the interior surface 132of the first waist region 116 in surface to surface contact with theinterior surface 132 of the second waist region 118 without fastening orjoining the waist regions together. The rear side panels 104 and 106and/or the front side panels 108 and 110 may also be folded laterallyinward toward the inner surfaces 132 of the waist regions 116 and 118.

The diaper 100 may also include various configurations of fasteningelements to enable fastening of the front waist region 116 and the backwaist region 118 together to form a closed waist circumference and legopenings once the diaper is positioned on a wearer. For example, asshown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the diaper 100 may include first and secondfastening members 162, 164, also referred to as tabs, connected with thefirst and second rear side panels 104, 106, respectively. The diaper mayalso include first and second front side panels 108, 110, that may ormay not include fastening members.

With continued reference to Figures lA and 1B, each side panel 104, 106and/or fastening member 162 and 164 may form a portion of or may bepermanently bonded, adhered or otherwise joined directly or indirectlyto the chassis 102 laterally inward from the side edge 128 and 130, inone of the front waist region 116 or the back waist region 118.Alternatively, the fastening members 162, 164 may form a portion of ormay be permanently bonded, adhered or otherwise joined directly orindirectly to the first and second rear panels 104, 106 at or adjacentthe distal edge of the panel and/or the first and second front sidepanels 108 and 110 at or adjacent the distal edge of the side panel. Itis to be appreciated that the fastening members and/or side panels maybe assembled in various ways, such as disclosed for example, in U.S.Pat. No. 7,371,302. The fastening members 162, 164 and/or side panels104, 106, 108, 110 may also be permanently bonded or joined at oradjacent the side edges 128 and 130 of the chassis 102 in various ways,such as for example, by adhesive bonds, sonic bonds, pressure bonds,thermal bonds or combinations thereof, such as disclosed for example,U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,551.

Referring now to FIG. 1B, the first fastening member 162 and/or thesecond fastening member 164 may include various types of releasablyengageable fasteners. The first and second fastening members 162 and/or164 may also include various types of refastenable fastening structures.For example, the first and second fastening members 162 and 164 mayinclude mechanical fasteners, 166, in the form of hook and loopfasteners, hook and hook fasteners, macrofasteners, buttons, snaps, taband slot fasteners, tape fasteners, adhesive fasteners, cohesivefasteners, magnetic fasteners, hermaphroditic fasteners, and the like.Some examples of fastening systems and/or fastening members 162, 164 arediscussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,848,594; 4,662,875; 4,846,815; 4,894,060;4,946,527; 5,151,092; 5,221,274; 6,251,097; 6,669,618; 6,432,098; andU.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2007/0078427 A1 and 2007/0093769 A1.

As previously mentioned, the fastening members 162 and 164 may beconstructed from various materials and may be constructed as a laminatestructure. The fastening members 162 and 164 may also be adapted toreleasably and/or refastenably engage or connect with another portion ofthe diaper 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the diaper 100 mayinclude a connection zone 168, sometimes referred to as a landing zone,in the first waist region 116. As such, when the taped diaper 100 isplaced on a wearer, the fastening members 162 and 164 may be pulledaround the waist of the wearer and connected with the connection zone168 in the first waist region 116 to form a closed waist circumferenceand a pair of laterally opposing leg openings. It is to be appreciatedthat the connection zone may be constructed from a separate substratethat is connected with the chassis 102 of the taped diaper. In someembodiments, the connection zone may be integrally formed as part of thebacksheet 136 of the diaper 100 or may be formed as part of the firstand second front panels 108, 110, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,735,840 and 5,928,212.

As previously mentioned, absorbent articles 100 may also be configuredas diaper pants 100P having a continuous perimeter waist opening andcontinuous perimeter leg openings. For example, FIG. 2A shows aperspective view of an absorbent article 100 in the form of a diaperpant 100P in a pre-fastened configuration, and FIGS. 2B-2C show frontand rear plan views of the diaper pant 100P. The diaper pant 100P mayinclude a chassis 102 such a discussed above with reference to FIG. 1Aand a ring-like elastic belt 170 such as shown in FIG. 2A. In someembodiments, a first elastic belt 172 and a second elastic belt 174 arebonded together to form the ring-like elastic belt 170. As such, diaperpants may be manufactured with the ring-like elastic belt 174 andprovided to consumers in a configuration wherein the front waist region116 and the back waist region 118 of the chassis 102 are connected toeach other as packaged, prior to being applied to the wearer. As such,diaper pants may have a continuous perimeter waist opening 176 andcontinuous perimeter leg openings 178 such as shown in FIG. 2A.

As previously mentioned, the ring-like elastic belt 170 may be definedby a first elastic belt 172 connected with a second elastic belt 174. Asshown in FIGS. 2A-2C, the first elastic belt 172 extends between a firstlongitudinal side edge 180 a and a second longitudinal side edge 180 b.And the second elastic 174 belt extends between a first longitudinalside edge 182 a and a second longitudinal side edge 182 b. The distancebetween the first longitudinal side edge 180 a and the secondlongitudinal side edge 180 b defines a pitch length, PLT, of the firstelastic belt 172, and the distance between the first longitudinal sideedge 182 a and the second longitudinal side edge 182 b defines the pitchlength, PLT, of the second elastic belt 174. The first elastic belt isconnected with the first waist region 116 of the chassis 102, and thesecond elastic belt 108 is connected with the second waist region 116 ofthe chassis 102. As shown in FIGS. 2A-2C, opposing end regions of thefirst elastic belt 172 are connected with opposing end regions of thesecond elastic belt 174 at a first side seam 184 and a second side seam186 to define the ring-like elastic belt 170 as well as the waistopening 176 and leg openings 178. It is to be appreciated that thering-like elastic belt may be formed by joining a first elastic belt toa second elastic belt with permanent side seams or with openable andreclosable fastening systems disposed at or adjacent the laterallyopposing sides of the belts.

As previously mentioned, absorbent articles may be assembled withvarious components that may constructed with the patterned aperturedsubstrates described herein. Thus, in the context of the previousdiscussion, the apparatuses and methods herein may be used to makepatterned apertured substrates configured as continuous substratesand/or discrete components of an absorbent article 100. For example, theapparatuses and methods herein may be utilized to create patternedapertured substrates to be used as or with any of the topsheet 138;backsheet 136; absorbent core 140; leg cuffs 156; waist feature 158;side panels 104, 106, 108, 110; connection zones 168; fastening elements162, 164, 166, and/or belts of an absorbent article 100. In additionalexamples, the apparatuses and methods herein may be utilized to createpatterned apertured substrates to be used as or with various componentsand absorbent articles described in U.S. Patent Publication No.2016/0136014 A1.

It is to be appreciated that the systems and methods disclosed hereinare applicable to work with various types of converting processes and/ormachines. The patterned apertured substrates of the present disclosuremay be made generally by using the process generally described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,628,097 and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2003/0021951 A1 and2016/0136014 A1. For example, FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation ofa converting apparatus 200 configured to form a patterned aperturedsubstrate 300 from a precursor substrate 302, also referred to herein asa precursor material, advancing in a machine direction MD through theconverting apparatus 200.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, a precursor material 302 is suppliedto the apparatus 200 as the starting material. The precursor material302 can be supplied as discrete webs, such as for example, sheets orpatches of material for batch processing. For commercial processing, theprecursor material 302 may be supplied as roll stock, and as such, maybe considered as having a finite width and an infinite length. In such acontext, the length is measured in the machine direction (MD), and thewidth is measured in the cross direction (CD).

The precursor material may be configured in various ways. For example,the precursor material 302 may be one or more nonwoven materials (sameor different), one or more films (same or different), a combination ofone or more nonwoven materials and one or more films, or any othersuitable materials or combinations thereof. The precursor material 302may be purchased from a supplier and shipped to where the patternedapertured substrates are being formed or the precursor material 302formed at the same location as where the patterned apertured substratesare being produced. The precursor material 302 may be extensible,elastic, or nonelastic. Further, the precursor material 302 may be asingle layer material or a multilayer material. In an instance, theprecursor material 302 may be joined to a polymeric film to form alaminate.

The precursor material 302 may comprise or be made of mono-component,bi-component, multi-constituent blends, or multi-component fiberscomprising one or more thermoplastic polymers. For example, thebicomponent fibers of the present disclosure may be formed of apolypropylene core and a polyethylene sheath. Further details regardingbi-component or multi-component fibers and methods of making the samemay be found in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0104831 A1 and U.S.Pat. Nos. 8,226,625; 8,226,626; 8,231,595; and 8,388,594. The variousfibers may be sheath/core, side-by-side, islands in the sea, or otherknown configurations of fibers. The fibers may be round, hollow, orshaped, such as trilobal, ribbon, capillary channel fibers, such as 4DG.The fibers may comprise microfibers or nanofibers.

The precursor material 302 may be unwound from a supply roll 204 andadvanced in a direction indicated by the arrow associated therewith asthe supply roll 204 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrowassociated therewith. From the supply roll 204, the precursor material302 advances through a nip 206 defined in a weakening roller (oroverbonding) arrangement 208, thereby forming a weakened precursormaterial 304, also referred to herein as a weakened precursor substrate.As shown in FIG. 4, the weakened precursor material 304 includes apattern of discrete bond regions 306 after advancing through the nip206. The discrete bond regions 306 are also referred to herein asoverbonds; densified and weakened areas; and weakened, melt stabilizedlocations. As discussed in further detail below, the weakened precursormaterial 304 may be stretched in the cross direction CD, or generally inthe CD, by a cross directional tensioning force to at least partially,or fully, rupture the plurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations306 to form the patterned aperture substrate 300.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the weakening roller arrangement 208 maycomprise a pattern roll 210, also referred to herein as a patternedcalendar roller, and an anvil roll 212. One or both of the pattern roll210 and the anvil roll 212 may be heated and the pressure between thetwo rolls may be adjusted by known techniques to provide the desiredtemperature, if any, and pressure to concurrently weaken andmelt-stabilize (“overbond”) the precursor material 202 at a plurality ofdiscrete bond regions 306, also referred to herein as weakened, meltstabilized locations. In some configurations, the temperature of thepattern roll 210 (or portions thereof) and/or the anvil roll 212 (orportions thereof) may be ambient temperature or may be in the range ofabout 100° C. to about 300° C., about 100° C. to about 250° C., about100° C. to about 200° C., or about 100° C. to about 150° C.,specifically reciting all 0.5° C. increments within the specified rangesand all ranges formed therein or thereby. The pressure between thepattern roll 210 and the anvil roll 212 may be in the range of about2,000 pli (pounds per linear inch) to about 10,000 pli, about 3,000 plito about 8,000 pli, or about 4,500 to about 6,500 pli, specificallyreciting all 0.1 pli increments within the specified ranges and allranges formed therein or thereby.

As shown generally in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pattern roll 210 may include anouter circumferential surface 214 and a plurality of pattern surfaces216 positioned radially outward from the outer circumferential surface214. During operation, the precursor substrate 302 advances betweenpattern roll 210 and the anvil roll 212 such that the precursorsubstrate 302 is compressed between the anvil roll 212 and the patternsurfaces 216 to form discrete bond regions 306 in the weakened precursorsubstrate 304. It is to be appreciated that the pattern surfaces 216 ofthe pattern roll 210 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 as a simplifiedexample, and a more detailed description of pattern rolls 210 andassociated pattern surfaces 216 that can be used to produce patternedapertured substrates 300 of the present disclosure are discussed belowwith reference to additional figures. The pattern surfaces 216 may bedisposed in a predetermined pattern with each of the pattern surfaces216 being configured and disposed to precipitate a weakened,melt-stabilized location in the precursor material 302 to affect apredetermined pattern of weakened, melt-stabilized locations 306 in theprecursor material 302. The pattern surfaces 216 may have a one-to-onecorrespondence to the pattern of melt stabilized locations 306 in theweakened precursor material 304. As shown in FIG. 4, the pattern roll210 may have a repeating pattern of the pattern surfaces 216 whichextend about the entire circumference of surface 214. In someconfigurations, the pattern surfaces 216 may extend around a portion, orportions of the circumference of the surface 214. The anvil roll 212 mayalso be configured in various ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, theanvil roll 212 may include an outer circumferential surface 218 defininga smooth surfaced, circular cylinder of steel, rubber, or othermaterial. The anvil roll 212 and the pattern roll 210 may be positioneddifferently relative each other than the positions shown in FIG. 4, forexample, wherein the anvil roll 212 is positioned above or to the rightor left of the pattern roll 210 and achieve the same result.

It is to be appreciated that the pattern rolls 210 and anvil rolls 212herein may be made from various materials. For example, in someconfigurations, the pattern roll 210 and/or anvil roll 212 may be madefrom hardened tool steel, powder metal tool steel, or tungsten carbide.

It is to be appreciated that the weakening roller arrangement 208 may beconfigured in various ways. For example, the weakening rollerarrangement may comprise a pattern roll and an ultrasonic bonding deviceincluding an ultrasonic horn, wherein the precursor substrate 302advances between the pattern roll and an ultrasonic horn to formdiscrete bond regions 306 in the weakened precursor substrate 304. It isto be appreciated that aspects of the ultrasonic bonding devices may beconfigured in various ways, such as for example linear or rotary typeconfigurations, and such as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,113,225; 3,562,041; 3,733,238; 5,110,403; 6,036,796; 6,508,641; and6,645,330. In some configurations, the ultrasonic bonding device may beconfigured as a linear oscillating type sonotrode, such as for example,available from Herrmann Ultrasonic, Inc. In some configurations, thesonotrode may include a plurality of sonotrodes nested together in thecross direction CD.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the weakened precursor material 304advances from the weakening roller arrangement 208 to a stretchingsystem 220 wherein the weakened precursor material 304 may be stretchedin the cross direction CD, or generally in the CD, by cross directionaltensioning forces to at least partially, or fully, rupture the pluralityof weakened, melt stabilized locations 306, thereby creating a pluralityof at least partially formed apertures 308 in the precursor material 102coincident with the plurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations306. As such, at least some or all of the discrete bond regions 306 areused to form apertures 308 in the weakened precursor material 304. Inturn, the patterns of discrete bond regions 306 may correlate generallywith the patterns of apertures 308 created in the weakened precursormaterial 304.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the stretching system 220 may include aninclude an incremental stretching apparatus 222 including opposedpressure applicators having three-dimensional surfaces that may at leastto a degree may be complementary to one another. FIG. 5 shows afragmentary enlarged view of an incremental stretching apparatus 222comprising a first incremental stretching roller 224 positioned adjacenta second incremental stretching roller 226 to define a nip 228therebetween. The first incremental stretching roller 224 may comprise aplurality of teeth 230 and corresponding grooves 232 which may extendabout the entire circumference of first incremental stretching roller224. The second incremental stretching roller 226 may comprise aplurality of teeth 234 and a plurality of corresponding grooves 236. Theteeth 230 on the first roller 224 may be configured to intermesh with orengage the grooves 236 on the second roller 226 while the teeth 234 onthe second roller 226 may be configured to intermesh with or engage thegrooves 232 on the first roller 224. The spacing of the teeth 230, 234and/or the grooves 232, 236 may be configured to match the spacing ofthe plurality of weakened, melt stabilized locations 306 in the weakenedprecursor material 304 or may be smaller or larger.

As the weakened precursor material 304 advances through the nip 228 ofthe incremental stretching apparatus 222, the weakened precursormaterial 304 is subjected to tensioning in the cross direction CD,causing the weakened precursor material 304 to be extended (oractivated) in the cross direction CD, or generally in the crossdirection CD. Additionally, the weakened precursor material 304 may betensioned in the machine direction MD, or generally in the machinedirection MD. The cross direction CD tensioning force exerted on theweakened precursor material 304 may be adjusted such that the weakened,melt-stabilized locations 306 at least partially or fully rupture,thereby creating a plurality of partially formed or formed apertures 308coincident with the weakened melt-stabilized locations. However, otherbonds of the weakened precursor material 306 (in the non-overbondedareas) may be strong enough such that these regions do not ruptureduring tensioning, thereby maintaining the weakened precursor material306 in a coherent condition even as the weakened, melt-stabilizedlocations 306 rupture. However, it may be desirable to have some of thebonds rupture during tensioning. It is to be appreciated that theincremental stretching apparatus may be configured in various ways, suchas disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0136014 A1.

In some configurations, the stretching system 220 may include a crossdirectional tensioning apparatus 238, such as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.For example, weakened precursor material 304 may advance from theincremental web stretching apparatus 208 to and at least partiallyaround the cross machine directional tensioning apparatus 238. As shownin FIG. 3, the cross machine directional tensioning apparatus 238 may beoffset from the main processing line by running the weakened precursormaterial 304 partially around idlers 240 and 242 or stationary bars, forexample. In some configurations, the cross machine tensioning apparatus238 may be positioned in line with the main processing line.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cross machine directional tensioning apparatus238 may comprise a roll 244 that comprises at least one outerlongitudinal portion that expands along a longitudinal axis, A, of theroll, relative to a middle portion of the roll 244, to stretch and/orexpand the weakened precursor material 304 in the cross machinedirection CD. Instead of or in addition to expanding along thelongitudinal axis, A, of the roll 244, the outer longitudinal portionmay be angled relative to the longitudinal axis, A, of the roll 244 in adirection away from the weakened precursor material 304 being advancedover the roll 244 to stretch the weakened precursor material 304 in thecross machine direction CD or generally in the cross machine directionCD. In some configurations, the roll 244 may comprise two outerlongitudinal portions that may expand in opposite directions generallyalong the longitudinal axis, A, of the roll 244. The two outer portionsmay both be angled downwards in a direction away from the weakenedprecursor material 304 being advanced over the roll 244. Such movementor positioning of the outer longitudinal portions of the roll 244 allowsfor generally cross machine directional tensioning of the weakenedprecursor material 304, which causes the plurality of weakened locations306 to rupture and/or be further defined or formed into apertures 308.

The outer longitudinal portions of the roll 244 may comprise vacuum, alow tack adhesive, a high coefficient of friction material or surface,such as rubber, and/or other mechanisms and/or materials to hold theweakened precursor material 304 to the outer lateral portions of theroll 244 during movement of the outer longitudinal portion or portionsrelative to the middle portion of the roll. The vacuum, low tackadhesive, high coefficient of friction material or surface, and/or othermechanisms and/or materials may prevent, or at least inhibit, the heldportions of the weakened precursor material 304 from slipping relativeto the longitudinal axis, A, of the roll 244 during stretching of theouter lateral portions of the material in the cross machine direction orgenerally in the cross machine direction.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the example cross machinedirectional tensioning apparatus 238. The cross machine directionaltensioning apparatus 238 may comprise a roll 244 comprising a middleportion 246 and two outer longitudinal portions 248 situated on eitherend of the middle portion 246. The roll 244 may rotate about itslongitudinal axis, A, on a drive shaft 250. The roll may rotate relativeto the drive shaft 250 or in unison with the drive shaft 250, as will berecognized by those of skill in the art. The weakened precursor material304 may be advanced over the entire cross machine directional width ofthe middle portion 246 and at least portions of the cross machinedirectional widths of the outer longitudinal portions 248. In someconfigurations, the weakened precursor material 304 may be advanced overat least about 5% up to about 80% of the circumference of the roll 244so that the cross machine directional stretching may be performed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a front view of an example crossmachine directional tensioning apparatus 238 with outer longitudinalportions 248 in an unexpanded or non-angled position relative to themiddle portion 246. FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a front viewof the cross machine directional tensioning apparatus 238 of FIG. 7 withthe outer longitudinal portions 248 in a longitudinally expandedposition relative to the middle portion 246. FIG. 9 is a schematicrepresentation of a front view of the cross machine directionaltensioning apparatus 238 of FIG. 7 with the outer longitudinal portions248 in an angled and expanded position relative to the middle portion246. In regard to FIG. 9, the outer longitudinal portions 248 may merelymove or slide in a direction generally perpendicular to the machinedirection MD of the weakened precursor material 304 passing over theroll 244 to apply the cross machine directional tensioning force to theweakened precursor material 304. FIG. 10 is a schematic representationof a front view of a cross machine directional tensioning apparatus 238with the outer longitudinal portions 248 fixed in an angled positionrelative to the middle portion 246 to apply the cross machinedirectional tensioning force to the weakened precursor material 304. Insuch a form, the middle portion 246 and each of the outer longitudinalportions 248 may comprise separate rolls.

Regardless of whether one or both of the outer longitudinal portions 248is moved, slid, rotated, fixed, and/or expanded relative to the middleportion 246, this relative motion or positioning between the outerlongitudinal portions 248 and the middle portion 246 stretches theweakened precursor material 304 in a cross machine direction CD tofurther rupture or further define the bond regions 306 in the weakenedprecursor material 304 and create, or further form, a plurality theapertures 308 to form the patterned apertured substrate 300. In someconfigurations, the cross machine directional tensioning force appliedby the cross machine directional tensioning apparatus 238 may be, forexample, 10-25 grams or 15 grams. In some configurations, the crossmachine directional tensioning apparatus 238 may be similar to, or thesame as, the incremental stretching apparatus 222 to apply the crossmachine directional tensioning forces. In still other configurations,any suitable cross machine directional tensioning apparatus may be usedto apply the cross machine directional tensioning force to the weakenedprecursor material 304 to form the patterned apertured substrate 300.

In some configurations, the incremental stretching step or the crossmachine directional stretching step described herein may be performed atelevated temperatures. For example, the weakened precursor material 304,the incremental stretching apparatus 222 and/or the cross directionaltensioning apparatus 238 may be heated. Utilizing heat in the stretchingstep may soften the weakened precursor material 304, and may help thefibers therein extend without breaking.

One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that it may beadvantageous to submit the weakened precursor material 304 to multipleincremental stretching processes depending on various desiredcharacteristics of the finished product. Both the first and anyadditional incremental stretching may either be done on-line oroff-line. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill will recognize that theincremental stretching may be done either over the entire area of thematerial or only in certain regions of the material depending on thefinal desired characteristics. Referring again to FIG. 3, the patternedapertured substrate 300 may be taken up on wind-up roll 252 and stored.In some configurations, the patterned apertured substrate 300 may be feddirectly to a production line where it is used to form a portion of anabsorbent article or other consumer product. It is to be appreciatedthat in some scenarios, the overbonding step illustrated in FIGS. 3 and4 could be performed by a material supplier and the weakened precursormaterial may be shipped to a consumer product manufacturer to performthe cross directional stretching steps. In some scenarios, theoverbonding step may be used in a nonwoven production process to formoverbonds, which may be in addition to, or in lieu of, primary bondsformed in the nonwoven production process. In some scenarios, a materialsupplier may fully perform the overbonding and stretching stepsillustrated in FIG. 3 and then the patterned apertured substrate 300 maybe shipped to the consumer product manufacturer. The consumer productmanufacturer may also perform all of the steps in FIG. 3 after obtaininga precursor substrate 302 from a material supplier.

As discussed above, when forming a patterned apertured substrate 300, aprecursor substrate 302 advances between the pattern roll 210 and theanvil roll 212 such that the precursor substrate 302 is compressedbetween the anvil roll 212 and the pattern surfaces 216 to form discretebond regions 306 in the weakened precursor substrate 304. The patternsurfaces 216 may have a one-to-one correspondence to the pattern ofdiscrete bond regions 306 in the weakened precursor material 304. Theweakened precursor material 304 is then stretched in the cross directionCD to rupture the bond regions 306 to form a patterned aperturedsubstrate 300 having a plurality of apertures 308 that may be coincidentwith the plurality of discrete bond regions 306.

As previously mentioned, the pattern rolls 210 herein may be configuredto help mitigate and/or reduce localized wear in the outercircumferential surface of the anvil roll that may otherwise occur. Forexample, the pattern surfaces 216 may be arranged along helical pathsaround the pattern roll 210 such that the pattern surfaces 216 exertpressure against outer circumferential surface 218 of the anvil roll 212at various locations along the axial length of the anvil roll 212 duringoperation. It is to be appreciated that the pattern rolls 210 withpattern surfaces 216 arranged in helical paths may be constructed invarious ways. For example, FIGS. 11A-11F show an example progression ofa method for making pattern rolls 210 according to the presentdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 11A, a roll 400 having a first outer circumferentialsurface 402 defining a cylindrical shape may be provided, wherein theroll 400 is adapted to rotate about an axis of rotation 404 extending ina direction Dir. The first outer circumferential surface 402 may bepositioned radially outward from the axis of rotation 404 by a firstradius R1. During operation, the direction Dir may be the same as thecross direction CD. It to be appreciated that the roll of FIG. 11A maybe provided in various ways. For example, the roll 400 may be providedfrom a forging. In another example, the roll 400 may be provided by heatshrinking a sleeve onto an outer surface of a shaft.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the roll 400 of FIG. 11A may be modified bycreating relief channels 406 adjacent at opposing axial end portions ofthe roll 400. As discussed below with reference to FIGS. 11C-11F, theroll 400 of FIG. 11B may be further modified by creating a number, m, ofgrooves 3000 in the roll 400 to form a number, n, of continuousindependent threads 5000 extending circumferentially around the axis ofrotation 404 along a helical path parallel with each other. For example,as shown in FIG. 11C, the roll 400 of FIG. 11B may be further modifiedby creating a first groove 3001 in the first outer circumferentialsurface 402 the roll 400. And as shown in FIG. 11D, the roll 400 of FIG.11C may be further modified by creating a second groove 3002 in firstouter circumferential surface 402 the roll 400, such that a first thread5001 is defined between the first groove 3001 and the second groove3002. With continued reference to FIG. 11E, the roll 400 of FIG. 11D maybe further modified by creating a third groove 3003 in first outercircumferential surface 402 the roll 400, such that a second thread 5002is defined between the second groove 3002 and the third groove 3003. Itis to be appreciated that the grooves 3000 may be formed in variousways. For example, grooves 3000 may be created by grinding material fromthe roll 400.

As shown in FIG. 11F, the process of creating grooves 3000 to formthreads 5000 may be repeated such that a number, m, of grooves 3001-300m may form a number, n, of threads 5001 -500 n on the roll 400. It is tobe appreciated that various numbers of grooves 3000 may be used to formvarious numbers of independent threads 5000 on the roll 400, such thatnumber of threads, n, is 2 or greater. In addition, the number ofgrooves, m, may be equal to n+1. In some configurations, the number ofindependent threads, n, is greater than 2 and less than 25, specificallyreciting all 1 thread increments within the specified ranges and allranges formed therein or thereby.

As an example illustration, FIG. 12 shows the outer circumferentialsurface of the roll 400 shown in FIG. 11B laid out flat and modified toinclude three independent threads 5001, 5002, 5003 separated by fourgrooves 3001, 3002, 3003, 3004. And FIG. 13 is a detailed view ofthreads 5000 of the roll 400 shown in FIG. 12. As shown in FIGS. 12 and13, the grooves 3000 may protrude radially inward into the roll 400 todefine a second outer circumferential surface 408 of the roll 400. Inturn, each thread 5000 may protrude radially outward from the secondouter circumferential surface 408 to the first outer circumferentialsurface 402 of the roll 400. As such, each thread 5000 may include anouter circumferential surface 410 defined by a portion of the firstouter circumferential surface 402 of the roll 400, wherein the outercircumferential surface 410 of each thread 5000 is positioned radiallyoutward from the axis of rotation 404 by the first radius R1.

In the example shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the outer circumferentialsurface 410 of each thread 5000 extends axially in the direction, Dir,from a first edge 412 to a second edge 414; to define a width, W1. It isto be appreciated that the threads 5000 may have various widths. Forexample, in some configurations, the width W1 defined by the distancebetween the first edge 412 and the second edge 414 may be at least about1 mm With continued reference to FIG. 13, the first edges 412 ofneighboring threads 5000, such as first thread 5001 and second thread5002, are separated by a pitch length, PL, extending in the directionDir. As previously mentioned, and as shown in FIG. 12, the threads 5000extend circumferentially around the axis of rotation 404 along helicalpaths parallel with each other. Because the number of threads, n, is 2or greater, the first edges 412 of the first thread 5001 at variousangular positions on the roll 400, from and between 0° and 360°, areseparated from first edges of the first thread 5001 by a lead length,LL, extending in the direction Dir, wherein [LL=PL*n]. In addition, thefirst outer circumferential surface 402, which is positioned a distanceR1 from the axis of rotation 404 of the roll, extends for a length CirL,wherein [CirL=2**R1]. As such, each thread 5000 comprises a helix angle,HA, with respect to the direction Dir wherein:

[helix angle=arctan((2*Π*R1)/(LL)), wherein 45°<helix angle<90°1].

It is to be appreciated that the rolls 400 herein may be configured withthreads 5000 oriented at various helix angles. For example, in someconfigurations, the threads 5000 are oriented with helix angles greaterthan 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees, specifically reciting all 0.1degree increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formedtherein or thereby. It is also to be appreciated that the variousnumbers of threads may be created on the roll having various pitchlengths, PL, and various lead lengths, LL. For example, in someconfigurations, the pitch length, PL, is at least about 1.5 mm Inanother example, the lead length, LL, is at least about 20 mm.

Once the roll 400 is modified to include a desired number of threads5000, the roll 400 may be converted into a pattern roll 210 by furthermodifying the threads 5000 to define pattern surfaces 216. For example,as shown in FIG. 14, the roll 400 of FIG. 12 may be further modified toform a pattern roll 210 by removing material from the outercircumferential surface 410 of each thread to form discrete first outersurfaces 416 and discrete second outer surfaces 418 on the threads 5000.It is to be appreciated that various processes may be used to removematerial from the outer circumferential surface 410 of the threads, suchas for example, hard milling. In FIGS. 14 and 16, the discrete secondouter surfaces 418 are represented by shaded rectangles on the threads5000. As shown in FIGS. 14-16, the discrete first outer surfaces 416 anddiscrete second outer surfaces 418 are intermittently arrangedcircumferentially around the axis of rotation 404 along a length of eachthread 5000. As shown in FIG. 15, the discrete first outer surfaces 416may be positioned radially outward from the axis of rotation by thefirst radius R1, and the discrete second outer surfaces 418 may bepositioned radially outward from the axis of rotation 404 by a secondradius R2 that less than the first radius RE As such, the discrete firstouter surfaces 416 define the pattern surfaces 216 of the pattern roll210 discussed above. It is to be appreciated that R1 may have variousvalues depending on particular design implementations or configurations.For example, in some configurations, R1 is at least about 100 mm. It isalso to be appreciated that the discrete first outer surfaces 416 may bepositioned at various distances radially outward from the discretesecond outer surfaces 418. For example, in some configurations, R1 maybe at least about 0.3 mm greater than R2. The discrete first outersurfaces 416 and the discrete second outer surfaces 418 may bepositioned at various distances radially outward from the second outercircumferential surface 408 of the roll 400. For example, in someconfigurations, the discrete first outer surfaces 416 of the threads5000 are positioned about 0.7 mm radially outward from the second outercircumferential surface 408 of the roll 400. In some configurations, thediscrete second outer surfaces 418 of the threads 5000 are positionedabout 0.4 mm radially outward from the second outer circumferentialsurface 408 of the roll 400. It is also to be appreciated that thethreads 5000 may be configured in various shapes. For example, thethread 5000 shown in FIGS. 15A and 16A include tapered sidewalls 220. Assuch, the discrete first outer surface 416 or pattern surface 216 maydefine a width W1 and the discrete second outer surface 418 may define awidth W2, wherein W2 is less than W1.

It is to be appreciated that the pattern rolls 210 herein may beconfigured in various ways with various patterns. For example, a singlepattern roll may include a plurality of patterns in various zones, suchas for example, a first zone having a first pattern, and a second zonehaving a second pattern. It is also to be appreciated that the patternsurfaces 216 may have various sizes and shapes. In some examples,pattern surfaces 216 may have a cross-directional width in the range ofabout 0.1 mm to about 10 mm, about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm, about 0.1 mm toabout 3 mm, about 0.15 mm to about 2 mm, about 0.15 mm to about 1.5 mm,about 0.1 mm to about 1 mm, about 0.1 mm to about 0.5 mm, or about 0.2mm to about 0.5 mm, specifically reciting all 0.05 mm increments withinthe specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby. In someexamples, the pattern surfaces 216 may have an aspect ratio that isgreater than about 10:1.

In some examples, the pattern surfaces 216 may have an aspect ratio inthe range of about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1,about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1.5:1, or about 1.1:1.It is to be appreciated that other aspect ratios of the pattern surfaces216 are also within the scope of the present disclosure. In someexamples, the spacing between adjacent pattern surfaces 216 in anydirection may be greater than about 0.5 mm, greater than about 0.6 mm,greater than about 0.7 mm, greater than about 0.8 mm, greater than about0.9 mm, greater than about 1 mm, greater than about 1.1 mm, greater thanabout 1.2 mm, greater than about 1.3 mm, greater than about 1.4 mm,greater than about 1 5 mm, greater than about 2 mm, greater than about 3mm, or may be in the range of about 0.7 mm to about 20 mm, or about 0.8mm to about 15 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mm increments withinthe specified ranges and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

As discussed above, it is to be appreciated that the pattern rolls 210herein may be configured with various numbers of grooves 3000 andthreads 5000 having various configurations of pattern surfaces 216.Thus, the pattern rolls 210 disclosed herein may be configured to createvarious types of patterns of discrete bond regions 306. In turn, suchbond regions 306 may correlate generally with the patterns of apertures308 created in the weakened precursor material 304 when utilized in theprocess discussed above with reference to FIGS. 3-10. As shown in FIGS.11E and 11F, the threads 5000 may be substantially parallel and/orlinear, and thus, the resulting bond regions 306 may also besubstantially parallel and/or linear. In some configurations, the bondregions 306 may be formed in a non-linear fashion, such as for example,in waves. Also the bond regions 306 may be substantially linear anddivergent over a portion of a pattern and/or convergent over a portionof a pattern. It is also to be appreciated that the grooves 3000 in thehelical pattern may be configured to be align with each other. In someconfigurations, the grooves in one bond area could be offset from thegrooves in an adjacent bond area.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a repeating patterns of discrete bondregions 306 imparted to a weakened precursor material substrate 304 bycorresponding pattern surfaces 216 of a pattern roll 210. In the exampleshown in FIG. 17, the patterns are created with a pattern roll 216having a plurality of independent threads 5000 arranged at a helix angleHA, such as discussed above. The threads 5000 include arrangements ofpattern surfaces 216 that define a repeating pattern of heart shapes 310and diamond shapes 312. As such, the pattern surfaces 216 andcorresponding bond regions 306 are oriented at the helix angle HA withrespect to the cross direction CD. As shown in FIG. 17, the pattern ofheart shapes 310 and diamond shapes 312 progressively shift in the crossdirection CD of the substrate 300 in accordance with the helix angle HAalong the machine direction MD. The pattern surfaces 216 may also bearranged such that the patterns of heart shapes 310 and diamond shapes312 may also be angularly offset with respect to the cross directionalong the cross direction CD, as illustrated by angle, θ, in FIG. 17.

In an absorbent article context, the patterned apertured substrate 300may be used as a topsheet or an outer cover nonwoven material. Theabsorbent article may have a central longitudinal axis 124 (see e.g.,FIG. 1B) that extends in a direction generally parallel to the machinedirection illustrated in FIG. 17. The patterns of heart shapes 310 anddiamond shapes 312 may have a longitudinal axis 314 that extends at anangle, relative to the central longitudinal axis 124 of an absorbentarticle, wherein [Φ=90°−HA], and wherein the helix angle, HA, may be anyof the angles disclosed herein. The absorbent articles may have any ofthe features and/or components described herein.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application and any patent application or patent to which thisapplication claims priority or benefit thereof, is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded orotherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission thatit is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimedherein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other referenceor references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention.Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in thisdocument conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in adocument incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assignedto that term in this document shall govern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for making an apertured substrate, themethod comprising: rotating a pattern roll about an axis of rotationextending in a cross direction, the pattern roll comprising an outercircumferential surface, the pattern roll comprising: a number, n, ofcontinuous threads extending circumferentially around the axis ofrotation along a helical path parallel with each other, wherein n is 2or greater; wherein each thread protrudes radially outward from theouter circumferential surface; wherein each thread comprises first outersurfaces and second outer surfaces intermittently arrangedcircumferentially around the axis of rotation along a length of eachthread; wherein the first outer surfaces are positioned radially outwardfrom the axis of rotation by a first radius R1; wherein the second outersurfaces are positioned radially outward from the axis of rotation by asecond radius R2 less than the first radius R1; wherein each first outersurface extends axially in the cross direction, from a first edge to asecond edge; wherein the first edges of neighboring threads areseparated by a pitch length, PL, extending in the cross direction;wherein the first edges of a first thread are separated from first edgesof the first thread by a lead length, LL, extending in the crossdirection, wherein [LL=PL*n]; and wherein each thread comprises a helixangle, wherein[helix angle=arctan((2*Π*R1)/(LL)), wherein 45°<helix angle<90°1];rotating an anvil roll adjacent the pattern roll; advancing a substratein a machine direction between the pattern roll and the anvil roll, themachine direction being substantially perpendicular to the crossdirection; and compressing the substrate between the anvil roll and thefirst outer surfaces of the threads to form discrete bond regions in thesubstrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is at least about 0.3 mmgreater than R2.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein R1 is at least about100 mm.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first surfaces of thethreads are positioned about 0.7 mm radially outward from the outercircumferential surface.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pitchlength, PL, is at least about 1.5 mm
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe lead length, LL, is at least about 20 mm.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein number of threads, n, is greater than 2 and less than
 25. 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein a distance between the first edge and thesecond edge is at least about 1 mm.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinadvancing a substrate further comprises combining a first substrate anda second substrate.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first andsecond substrates each comprise nonwovens.